Chelsea Kuss tearful at sentencing: "I'm so sorry for what I did"

Editor’s note: This is the article that ran in The Post-Standard on Tuesday. It is an updated version of Monday's online report.

Michelle Gabel / The Post-StandardChelsea Kuss (right) and her lawyer, Robert Durr, appear in court in front of Judge Biagio DiStefano Monday in the Madison County Office Building in Wampsville.

Chelsea Kuss' journal and homework still sit where she left them on Victoria Deverso's bedroom dresser at 9:30 a.m. May 24. That's when she told Deverso's father the two were headed to class at OCM-BOCES.

The court appearance shed more light on the events of May 24, described by one state police investigator as "the most horrific accident scene" he had ever been to.

Mike Greenlar / The Post StandardState police investigate a two-car crash on Route 31 near Lucas Road east of Bridgeport in Madison County May. The crash killed Victoria Deverso, 17, a Liverpool High School junior.

Police say Kuss wove in and out of traffic while traveling west on Route 31, passing a school bus and several other vehicles before slamming into Blume's minivan at 84 mph. Blood tests revealed Kuss had a blood-alcohol content of 0.13 percent at the time of the crash. The legal limit is .08.

"Young people are constantly taught and reminded about the dangers of drinking and driving so results like this don't happen, " Madison County District Attorney Bill Gabor said.

Deverso's friends from Celebrations dance studio wore bright yellow T-shirts that said, "You are my sunshine." Chris Deverso wore the name tag from his daughter's part-time job at Wegmans, while another friend wore the fuzzy leopard-print slippers Victoria Deverso was famous for wearing, both indoors and out.

Kuss offered a tearful apology before being handcuffed and led away by police officers.

"I'm so sorry for what I did, " she said. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of Victoria and the consequences of my decisions.

"Nobody deserved this, " she sobbed, her words becoming inaudible in her grief.

But family of the victims expressed their frustration that Kuss had not taken responsibility for her actions or shown remorse earlier.

Jim Commentucci / The Post-StandardFriends and family created a memorial for Liverpool High School junior Victoria Deverso in May at the site of the fatal car accident Monday on Route 31 in the Madison County town of Sullivan.

Chris Deverso read from Kuss' Facebook and Myspace pages, including a post she allegedly wrote the day before she left the hospital: "I come home tomorrow; let's smoke blunts" -- a reference to marijuana cigarettes.

"(Chelsea Kuss) will get a second chance at life, " Chris Deverso said. "We don't get a second chance, a do-over."

"Chelsea was able to walk away, " the Blumes said in their statement. "Chelsea was able to enjoy her summer. Peggy was in the hospital."

Defense attorney Robert Durr said he had prevented Kuss from reaching out to the Deverso and Blume families because of the pending court proceedings.

Before passing sentence, Madison County Judge Biagio DiStefano noted inconsistencies in statements Kuss gave to police.

While witnesses said she drank three cans of Four Loko in the car and a fourth at the beach, "you said you only bought two and denied drinking at the beach, " he told Kuss.

Photo courtesy of Chris DeversoVictoria Deverso, 17, a junior at Liverpool High School, was killed in a crash May 24 in Madison County. She was a passenger in the vehicle. This photo was taken May 15 before her junior prom. She is posing with her father, Chris Deverso.

DiStefano said Kuss also told a probation officer, "I know myself; I would never get behind the wheel drunk."

Chris Deverso said the sentencing was another step in the family's grieving process.

"For Chelsea, her reality sets in today, and my daughter gets to rest in peace, " he said.

The family plans to celebrate Victoria Deverso's upcoming birthday at the cemetery with a cake. They will also mark the anniversary of her death and the day she would have graduated from high school.

Chris Deverso said he still can't bring himself to go to the annual car show that he had attended with his daughter since she was 9.

"She won't be there, " he said.

Michelle Gabel / The Post-StandardChristopher Deverso addresses the press after the sentencing of Chelsea Kuss, right, Monday in the Madison County Office Building in Wampsville Monday. Kuss was accused of being the driver in a crash at 2:55 p.m. May 24 on Route 31 in Sullivan that killed Liverpool High School senior Victoria Deverso, 17.

Victims' statements
Before sentencing, Madison County District Attorney Bill Gabor read statements given by Peggy Blume and Elizabeth Deverso. Chris Deverso gave his own statement, standing at the podium before defendant Chelsea Kuss and Madison County Judge Biagio DiStefano.

Steve Blume, Peggy Blume's husband, said his wife was initially admitted to University Hospital as a Jane Doe, because authorities were unable to determine who was killed in the accident. He was taken to see her as medical staff transported her for a CAT scan.

"I was unable to identify her at that time because I had never seen her look that badly, " he said of his wife of 17 years, who suffered a skull fracture, breaks to her left arm and knee, both legs, pelvis and spine, plus torn ligaments in her right knee and a shattered right ankle and heel.

Elizabeth Deverso said her daughter made two calls to a friend before the crash, likely as the SUV was speeding down Route 31.

Four Loko shot into prominence a few years ago and became known as "blackout in a can." It packs a 12 percent alcohol content -- along with caffeine and the stimulants guarana and taurine -- into a 23.6-ounce can.

That's the alcoholic equivalent of about four 12-ounce cans of beer, plus the jolt of coffee. The FDA worried that the caffeine masks some of the "sensory clues" that let people know they are becoming intoxicated.

In October, Central Washington University officials said nine students at an off-campus party were hospitalized with high blood-alcohol contents after consuming Four Loko. The month before, authorities said 23 students were hospitalized over the span of a few weeks at Ramapo College in New Jersey after drinking it.

At the time of the ban, Four Loko developers said they planned to reformulate the drink to remove the caffeine. New versions, including Four Loko XXX, were launched in January.